Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 5.790-5.980 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 5.920. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Ross Stores also updated its Q2 2024 guidance to 1.430-1.490 EPS.

Ross Stores Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROST traded up $10.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $142.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,834,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,831. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores has a 12 month low of $100.66 and a 12 month high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The apparel retailer reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.83 billion. Ross Stores had a net margin of 9.20% and a return on equity of 41.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ross Stores will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.3675 per share. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 11th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Ross Stores announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROST has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $155.68.

Insider Activity at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, COO Michael J. Hartshorn sold 21,056 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $3,056,067.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,616,788.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,914 shares in the company, valued at $278,257.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.